The Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Dr. Chris Baryomunsi, has mentioned that telecommunication firms shall be investigated, with a view of placing heavy sanctions over the continued use of unregistered cell phone sim playing cards.
In 2013, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) was mandated to make sure mass registration of sim playing cards, with a view of curbing crime.
“I’ve engaged the telecommunication firms they usually preserve giving assurance that it’s only authorised numbers which might be in circulation, whereas such experiences point out the reverse.
He added, “What I can pledge is that I’m going to interact the telecommunication firms as soon as once more as a result of it’s evident that some individuals entry unregistered numbers. They have been claiming that could be they’re utilizing numbers of useless individuals.”
The Minister’s remarks adopted a matter of nationwide significance raised by Butebo district girl Member of Parliament, Hon. Sarah Ameede, throughout plenary sitting on Thursday, 19 September 2024.
Ameede mentioned that residents in Butebo district have severally fallen victims of fraudsters who use unregistered sim playing cards.
“There are individuals registering and extorting cash from individuals from Butebo district, purportedly as brokers of the affiliation of Teso struggle victims with a promise that they’re engaged on their varieties to profit from authorities compensation,” she mentioned.
Amede requested for a proof on the legality of such actions and in addition urged authorities to place an finish to extortion of unsuspecting individuals.
Minister of Defence and Veteran Affairs, Jacob Marksons Oboth agreed with Baryomunsi, saying that the Uganda Communications Act might be reviewed to penalise telecommunication firms discovered culpable of circulating unregistered sim playing cards.
“We can have a look at the regulation once more and are available again right here. This Parliament can save the state of affairs by laws, to create legal responsibility on the service suppliers,” Oboth mentioned.
He added that the matter must be addressed as a result of use of unregistered sim card additionally poses safety dangers.
“Criminals in Uganda, like some other nation, are utilizing telephones. This isn’t a small matter, individuals have been killed, individuals have been robbed whereas criminals coordinate this utilizing unregistered numbers,” he mentioned.
Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, welcomed the proposal to institute punitive measures towards telecommunication firms.
“You have to comb into the regulation to see how one can have punitive measures, in different nations that’s what they’ve completed. It is like banks, you facilitate cash laundering, you discover that you’ve got been fined US$500 million and now they even shut them down,” Tayebwa mentioned.
The matter attracted debate from a number of lawmakers, who mentioned they’ve been victims of fraudsters who use unregistered sim playing cards, they usually referred to as for a long-lasting resolution to the difficulty.
Hon. Andrew Ojok (NRM, Omoro County) urged the Minister of ICT to think about a national knowledge consciousness marketing campaign with a view of enlightening the inhabitants on easy methods to detect fraud.